Road into home stretch looks pretty bumpy

Despite the leadership of the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate, along with the chairs of both the House and Senate Transportation Committees, it is all but certain that the legislature will adjourn once again without a comprehensive statewide plan to address Colorado’s highways, roads, and transportation options. Also, a bold approach with the key goal of preventing cuts to Colorado hospitals may implode because of fundamental disagreements linked to the Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR).

The fallout from the pending demise of HB 17-1242, the transportation funding referred question supported by CML and scores of others, could potentially mean a ballot question via initiative. Should that be the case, the legislative process that can help shape a referred question is cut out completely. Whether any initiated question ensures a statewide solution that also includes municipal streets and transportation options remains to be seen.

SB 17-267, which would allow the hospital provider fee (HPF) program to form as an enterprise with other certain strings attached, seems likely to fall apart over the issue of whether the state’s revenue limit required by TABOR must be reduced. As the League has noted, reducing the spending limit puts distribution of local government severance taxes in significant jeopardy as revenues continue to rise.

With 13 working days left, it is unlikely these issues will be resolved. However, that has not stopped legislators from considering additional controversial legislation. A draft bill shown to stakeholders late last week under the guise of helping rural broadband deployment is actually aimed at the heart of local governments following voter-approved directives to bring better broadband service to homes and businesses. The League is taking the bill seriously, since it comes from a member of leadership, but there is hope that it will be set aside in favor of an approach that would actually help expand broadband in rural Colorado.